If not left in check, asthma can spiral out of control. The attacks can be life threatening in some instances. It is important that you seek professional medical advice, but it doesn’t mean that you should take your own steps to relief. This article contains a number of tips that can assist you in taking control of your asthma.
Do you know which type of asthma you suffer from? Being aware of your specific condition will help you combat the effects it has over your body day in and day out. A perfect example is that if you have asthma caused by exercise you should put a inhaler in your locker or gym bag. You can avoid any future crisis by knowing and figuring out patterns of the symptoms you have.
You should avoid smoking and any type of fumes if you suffer from asthma. This means you need to keep away from tobacco products and only seek out jobs where you aren’t exposed to any harmful chemicals, smoke or vapors.
Ensure your child is never around smoke to handle their asthma. Secondhand smoke is a leading cause of asthma. If your child is in an area where people are smoking, remove him quickly to avoid an asthma attack.
You may be unaware that certain medications you might be on could cause asthma symptoms. Examples of medications that may contribute to asthma are aspirin and other NSAIDs. You can also use medications that can control high blood pressure and heart disease, things like beta blockers. If you’ve been diagnosed as asthmatic and are taking medications unrelated to your asthma, be sure your doctor is aware of them.
Avoid anything that could trigger your asthma. This can vary from person to person, as small particles like dust can cause asthma attacks. While in other people, all it takes is physical activity and an attack can trigger. Try to figure out when your asthma began so it can be avoided.
Asthma is a disease that is continuous. As such, it requires long-term health management. Always be very sure that you’re taking the right type of medication for your condition if you hope to control it. It’s also important to have a quick-relief medication available. Discuss your best options with your allergist and doctor.
You may be unaware that certain medications you might be on could cause asthma symptoms. A couple of common culprits that do this are aspirin and NSAIDs. Common medications used for controlling high blood pressure often times contain beta blockers, which asthmatics may be more sensitive to. If you have asthma and these other conditions, let your physician know.
Use the inhaler properly. Get to a place out of the way, and read the directions before starting. Remember that using an inhaler is only going to help you if the medication contained within makes its way to the lungs. Inhale deeply and spray the correct dose into your mouth. Then hold it and try not to breathe for a minimum of 10 seconds. This will give enough time for the medication to properly fill out your lungs.
Asthma is a disease that is continuous. As such, it requires long-term health management. Take the proper medications for controlling your asthma daily, and keep quick relief medication somewhere on you just in case you have a sudden attack. Discuss treatment strategies with both your primary care physician and your allergist.
If you are dealing with asthma, you would benefit from buying a dehumidifier. Though you may not be aware of it, high levels of humidity in indoor spaces can increase dust mites, which then can affect asthma. A dehumidifier makes the air in your home dry by keeping humidity to a minimum.
If you have asthma, avoid cigarette smoke of all kinds. Smoking is especially dangerous for asthmatics. Avoid fumes and vapors of any kind. Chemical fumes will trigger asthma attacks that you won’t be able to put an end to. If you find yourself in a situation where you are around smokers, remove yourself as quickly as possible.
Keep your home free of dust and other triggers, especially where the person who suffers from asthma sleeps. Don’t smoke indoors, or allow any junk food in your home. Don’t use strong cleaners or bleach and air out the house immediately following cleaning.
Keep rooms free of dust, and do not turn on a fan if you do have dusty rooms. Dust blown around by fans can cause your asthma to rear up. Open a window instead to get the air flowing.
Avoid pillows with feathers if you have asthma. Feather can decrease lung function and trigger asthma symptoms. Be sure to keep the same advice in mind for your bedclothes. They should be made from materials that do not increase allergy symptoms.
If you are an asthmatic who also has allergies, injected allergy medication may be just the thing you need to get relief. Omalizumab is an antibody medication that is used to control these allergic reaction symptoms and may be recommended by your allergist.
Even if you are feeling great, don’t skip your asthma check-ups. Medical science is constantly evolving, so the doctor might know about a new treatment for you. Besides, you can never be sure when another attack might come on, so it’s better to be checked out.
Make sure that everyone in your family, including you, gets annual flu shots. Make sure you do your best in avoiding respiratory infections at all costs if you have asthma. To do this you must take extra precautions against getting sick, like washing your hands often and getting vaccinated every year.
Think about becoming a member of a support group, whether it is online or somewhere local. Asthma, especially the more severe forms, cause many problems that interfere with the quality of life and present many challenges. In addition, a community of other asthma sufferers will let you know about changes in medications or other relevant scientific discoveries.
If you have hay fever or a cold, chances are your asthma treatment will be increased. Many illnesses have side effects that could cause your asthma to flare up so badly that you need to have an increase in treatment. Your physician might also work an additional treatment into your therapy until such time as you are healthier.
Asthma Attacks
If you suffer from asthma, you should refrain from sleeping on a pillow that contains feathers. The feathers from a pillow can cause asthma symptoms and decrease your lung function. Be sure to keep the same advice in mind for your bedclothes. They should be made from materials that do not increase allergy symptoms.
Some common catalysts of asthma attacks regularly occur in the home. Typical asthma triggers in the home are dust and mold spores. If you want to prevent and manage these sources of asthma attacks, have regular home inspections by a professional, and get identified harming agents cleaned out. Keep your house clean to keep these asthma triggers out of your home.
When preventing asthma, stay away from smoke. Inhaling smoke makes it harder for you to breathe and might result in an asthma attack. You should stay far away from smoke of any kind, chemicals and vapors. These can increase symptoms of asthma. If you are being exposed to things that may irritate your asthma, remove yourself from the situation as quickly as possible.
Be sure to thoroughly understand how to utilize asthma medication correctly, particularly any rescue medication. A typical asthma treatment plan is daily medication backed up with an emergency inhaler. Asthma is a serious, chronic health condition, and it’s vital that you take medicine to manage the disease properly and use the rescue medications as directed.
People that experience asthma must stay indoors as often as they can when pollen is abundant. Although asthma is not an allergy, many of the same irritants that trouble allergy sufferers affect asthma sufferers too. Check the local air quality report online to determine whether to stay indoors and keep irritant exposure to a minimum.
When taking asthma medications on a plane trip, bring written medical prescriptions provided by your doctor. If you’ve got written proof, it’ll save you a lot of hassle when you’re at a security check.
If you suffer from asthma and allergies, make sure you clean your humidifier before using it. If the vaporizer or humidifier has not been thoroughly cleaned there could be bacteria growing inside of it. When you turn it on it will pump allergens that you will inevitably breath in.
When housecleaning, it is better to clean your floors with a damp mop than sweeping them with a broom. Vacuuming or wet-mopping are better than sweeping because they don’t stir up dust and debris that might induce an asthma attack. Use a dampened rag when dusting, instead of a feather duster, so as to prevent stirring up loose dust particles and other asthma triggers.
It is important to remain calm during an asthma attack. First thing first, use your inhaler, then wait 30 seconds and begin to use it again. Seek help if your attack gets worse. Go to the hospital. If the attack is particularly bad, have a friend take you or call 911. To slow down your breathing along the way, breathe into a paper bag.
People with asthma should not smoke. Most people are aware of the dangers of smoking, but for someone with asthma, the consequences are even more serious. Smoke greatly irritates the sensitive lungs of the person with asthma, so in addition to not smoking, someone with asthma should avoid people that are smoking.
Make sure you schedule regular checkups with your doctor every few months to keep a heads up on your asthmatic condition. Your physician must check you out regularly to see if you need to do anything differently with your treatment. It is up to you to be proactive about your health and set up regular appointments with your asthma doctor to allow him or her to work with you to keep you healthy and feeling well.
Stay Indoors
Eat a lot of foods that have vitamin B6. Vitamin B6, aka pyridoxine, is found to reduce asthma attack frequency in a lot of studies. How does this work? Pyridoxine is a chemical that reduces constriction in the bronchial tubes. This constriction is what brings on asthma attacks. Bananas are one of many good sources of vitamin B6.
If the pollen count is rising, stay indoors when possible. While asthma isn’t a type of allergy, those with asthma are frequently bothered by the same kinds of irritants that cause problems for allergy sufferers. The same air quality reports available in the local news for allergy problems can also help those with asthma issues stay indoors on particularly hazardous days.
Ensure your house is clean and tidy. Also, be sure to keep your bedding as clean as possible. Doing this prevents the build up of dust and dust mites, which can both trigger an asthma attack. The more dust there is in an environment, the more likely it becomes that the air will aggravate an asthmatic’s symptoms, prompting an attack.
If you have asthma and allergies, don’t use a vaporizer or humidifier if it has not been completely cleaned. Bacteria can breed in moist parts of the machine, and if it is unclean when you turn it on, it will just pump out allergens.
Be mindful of any allergy attacks that you suffer. If you experience these attacks more than twice each week, you need to switch medications. Asthma attacks are often preventable; there is no reason for anyone to have more than one attack per week, if any. These attacks can be fatal, so you want to reduce them as much as possible.
Asthma is an uncurable disease, but that doesn’t mean that the symptoms are permanent and can’t go away. However, just like most things in life, overcoming your asthma symptoms takes time and effort. If you follow these easy tips, you’ll find that your symptoms will get better over time and you’ll be able to enjoy a healthier, more active lifestyle.
Gradually increase your strength, and lung capacity. Avoid attempting a strenuous workout if you know that it will likely trigger an asthma attack.